B Science (Hons), PhD
Faculty Member, Tonissen Laboratory, Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies
Contact details for Dr Kathryn Tonissen
Biography
Dr Kathryn Tonissen obtained her PhD in 1991 from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Adelaide in the group of Professor Julian Wells. She then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin in the field of developmental biology and genetics. She returned to Australia in 1996 and took up a position at Griffith University. She was appointed to a lecturer position in 1998 and to senior lecturer in 2001.
Her research interests are in the field of redox control, with a particular focus on the thioredoxin system. Redox control processes are known to play important roles in many facets of cell biology including cancer cell biology, immunology, reproductive biology and many aspects of cell signalling. She is interested in studying the function of the thioredoxin system in cancer cell development, progression and metastasis.
She is also interested in studying how the antioxidant genes are regulated by various stimuli and in cancer cells. She was the first person to publish on the human thioredoxin gene promoter and is currently studying how the gene expression is regulated by oxidative stress and hypoxia. Her work has been funded by the Queensland Cancer Fund and the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
She is well respected internationally due to her track record studying the thioredoxin system and has been invited to give seminars at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, Linköping University in Linköping, Sweden, the DKFZ (German Cancer Research Institute) in Heidelberg, Germany and at Korea University, Seoul, South Korea.
Kathryn Tonissen is also the program convenor for the School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences Honours programs (biosciences). She is particularly interested in helping students to acquire scientific writing skills. Her work in this area has been recognised with the award of a Faculty Learning and Teaching citation in 2009 and with a Learning and Teaching project grant from Griffith University (2008-2009). In 2005 she completed a Graduate Certificate in Higher Education.
Affiliations
Cancer Biology Group, Eskitis Institute for Cell and Molecular Therapies
Senior Lecturer, School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences